I'm no expert in this field and I recommend you do consult a counselor or a psychologist, if possible, but I happened across your message and thought i'd reply.

Dealing with someone who is in a depressive state or a manic state isn't easy. Someone close to me is bipolar, and it's clear that dealing with the disease has been very difficult for her.

If your boyfriend has been diagnosed as bipolar by a medical professional and if his condition doesn't improve, ask him to make an appointment. Contact his parents, siblings, or friends if you think that would help. Try to remain as calm as you can when discussing this with him, as having an emotional discussion may not help.

My advice is general, and please remember this is just one opinion from someone with no medical training:

1. If your boyfriend has by chance ever hurt you physically, it'd be best if you kept your distance. You didn't mention this, and this may not be an issue, but if your boyfriend has ever hurt you, *regardless* of his mental state, you should be safe first. If you live with him, consider contact a women's shelter.

2. If your boyfriend has been prescribed medication but he has stopped taking it on his own initiative, contact his doctor as soon as you can. Going off medication, changing the dose, or switching medications can have undesired side effects.

3. If your boyfriend is not taking medication, see if he would consider visiting a psychology, psychiatrist, counselor, or clinician to discuss this option.

4. If, in the worst case, you and/or he decide it is best to break up, try not to forget that there are a lot of people out there, and in my opinion there's no such thing as one and only one person for you in the world.

5. If by chance you think your boyfriend's depression could deepen and he might become suicidal, consider hospitalization. (i'm not suggesting he is suicidal, but try to assess the situation as well as you can and discuss it with someone else you know who can view the situation somewhat objectively.)

6. Try to get some sleep, exercise a little to help relieve stress, and don't forget to eat a normal meal. This sort of situation is always difficult to deal with emotionally, but you'll get through it.

Briefly put:
1. Consider your health and safety first.
2. Consider your boyfriend's health and safety.
3. Do what's right for both of you.
4. Don't avoid warning signs if the relationship is in trouble. Seek relationship counseling if you can, but stay within whatever budget you may have.

I totally feel your pain. My girlfriend has bipolar disorder and gets like this from time to time. I would do absolutely anything for her, and I am so in love with her... I just don't understand why she sometimes doesn't want to be with me. She says she loves me, but how can someone love you if they treat you so terribly? I've come to the conclusion that when she has her mood swings, she is pretty much oblivious to the heartbreaking words that come out of her mouth. I wish she could feel how much she hurts me... not because I want her to be hurt, but because I have this delusional idea that maybe, just maybe, if she could experience this pain that I have gone through so many times, she could alter her behavior during her mood swings to minimize all the pain that she causes me.

i have bipolar disorder and i think this is so interesting of a thing to hear at least right now. just last night me and my boyfriend had a similar fall out and also similar to the things said by "freneticone".. here's the thing...just like the reply given to you before me i have said many times to my boyfriend whom i love so much that he should just leave me. how could he love me with all that i do to him. the things i say are sometimes soo heartless its ridiculous. but i know that he does love me. why i will never understand but he does because somehow he sees the good past it all. sounds like you see the good in your boyfriend too. if you want things to work you HAVE TO UNDERSTAND that you cannot fix him no matter what. so dont try. dont take responsibility and even tho its human to get upset try your best to be upset tell him why and drop the conversation til hes relaxes. because he will. we always do

the only thing that you can do.. which is the only thing that helps me when im in an episode cocerning my significant other is to just simply remind him that you love him. thats all. dont try to reason, youll just wear yourself out. reminding him that you love him is all you need to do and do it often. itll save you heartache and turn him around sooner

but just make sure not to take to much responsibility for how he feels. for lack of better words become detached at least while his moods are there.